Citizen Max is the 22nd episode of the animated series Tiny Toon Adventures. It was written by Gordon Bressack, Charles M. Howell, IV, Paul Dini and Tom Reugger, and directed by Art Vitello. It is a spoof of the famous movie Citizen Kane, and tells the sad story about how Montana Max ended up being the way that he is.

Contents

Plot

Montana Max is at his house, destroying all his toys and other possessions. After looking at himself in a mirror, he shouts out "ACME" to the whole world. People in Acme Acres wonder why he said "ACME." Hamton goes around to interview people, wondering why Monty said "ACME."
At the Acme Acres Country Club, Buster answers him, also asking Hamton if he has a carrot on him, which Hamton doesn't. Buster shows Hamton a flashback of Monty and Buster back in the day when they were friends. In Buster's flashback, they were in the snow, dressed like peasants, riding on Monty's bicycle. Monty splits a piece of chewing gum with his best friend, Buster, that he got for 50 cents, and that he had been saving up for it for weeks. Buster hopes that Monty never changes. Monty also invites Buster over for supper. Unfortunately, Monty's parents pick Monty up in a limo, telling him that they won the lottery and that they are moving. Then Buster thought that Monty was supposed to be his best friend forever. But from then on when the school election came, Monty had changed and became mean, greedy, and rich. As the flashback ends, Buster is still unsure what "Acme" means. He tells Hamton to ask Plucky, as Plucky was Monty's campaign manager.

Under Buster's advice, Hamton decides to go to Acme Looniversity to interview Plucky next. Plucky explains in his flashback that during the Student Body President election at Acme Loo, the two candidates were Buster and Monty. Monty pays Plucky to be his campaign manager. Although Monty takes control of the school's television station and tries to bribe the students into voting for him, his bribery is barely a match for Buster's honesty. During an interview with Buster on what he would do if he were elected student body president, Monty disguises himself as a news press secretary. He asks Buster what his opinion on students who cheat on tests is, and Buster tells him that, "Cheaters should be tarred, feathered, and kicked out of school!" Monty reaches into Buster's hat and pulls out a book that says Stolen Test Answers. Little did the other students know that Monty framed Buster for the crime, and Buster was wrongfully expelled from the Looniversity. After that, Buster (now tarred and feathered) vows he would get revenge on Monty. As the flashback ends, Plucky is still unsure what "Acme" means. He asks Hamton to interview Elmyra, as she has always been Monty's girlfriend.

Hamton goes to Elmyra's house to interview her, but it is difficult to cooperate with her because she is somewhat oblivious. Elmyra tells Hamton that "Acme" sounds like a word as cute as Buster is. She remembers that Monty was being very mean to him. In her flashback, Buster seeks Babs' help, not to clear his name, get back into school, or win the election, as she expects, but to help him hide because Elmyra is chasing him. Elmyra, feeling sympathetic for Buster, wants to cuddle him in his time of need. Babs takes Buster underground so they can hide from Elmyra. As the flashback ends, Elmyra tells Hamton that she was sad, unable to find Buster, but then she found Furrball and Hamton, and now she's happy. While at the same time trying to escape her grasp, Hamton asks Elmyra what "Acme" means. (Not surprisingly,) Elmyra doesn't know what "Acme" means either.

Hamton goes insane trying to figure out why Monty said "Acme." Babs is nearby and decides to help him. She explains in her flashback that after escaping from Elmyra, she and Buster ended up in a parking lot. Plucky is there, dressed as "Deep Quack" and acting as a double agent to Monty. Plucky realizes his mistake and shows Buster and Babs the footage from the interview earlier. When he plays the footage in Acme super-duper slow motion, it is revealed that Monty did, in fact, frame Buster. He reached far into the hat and broke it, taking out the stolen test answers book from his own pocket. An outraged Buster vows to 'hoist Monty by his own petard.'

During Monty's interview as Student Body President, Buster and Babs both cross-dress as TV interviewers, with Plucky as a hidden cameraman, and coerce and trick Monty into revealing to the students of Acme Looniversity that Monty framed Buster. When Monty goes on stage to make a speech, the students respond by throwing tomatoes, some of which are distributed by Plucky himself. Buster's reputation is saved, and he is accepted back into the Looniversity as the new Student Body President, while Monty is expelled.

As Babs' flashback ends, Buster, Babs, and Hamton are still puzzled as to what Monty meant when he said "Acme." Buster tells Hamton that as a rich kid, Monty could buy whatever he wanted, and that maybe "Acme" was something he couldn't buy, like friendship. While Buster is saying this, garbage collectors arrive to pick up the trash, including Monty’s discarded bicycle (the one Monty and Buster rode together when they were friends). Just before it is thrown in the garbage truck for disposal, there is a close-up of the bike’s "ACME" logo, leading the audience to think that that is what Monty referred to all along. However, Monty unexpectedly appears and finally answers everyone's question: He did not say "Acme," he said "Acne," as he had a bad case of acne, and shows the trio an outbreak of pimples on his face. Hamton says, "Now he tells me!" and faints.

Quotes

Montana Max: "Hi, friends. Montana Max here, asking for your support. As we all know, Acme Loo needs a new student council president who's reliable, honest, and fair, but I want you to vote for me anyway!"

Montana Max: My friends, if elected, I vow to improve the lousy food in the school cafeteria!Buster: I think the food's fine!Montana Max: Ha! That's how much you know, rabbit! Food is a disaster!Plucky: Or at least it's going to be. [gives Dizzy Devil a tomato attached to a dynamite stick] Your lunch, sir.Dizzy: Oh boy, what dis?Plucky: It's called tomato surprise![Dizzy eats the tomato and it explodes inside his stomach]Plucky: Surprise!Dizzy: Yummy!Plucky: Eh?Dizzy: Hey everybody - tomato surprise![Everyone excitedly heads to the cafeteria]Buster: See? Everybody loves the food here!Montana Max: Ergh, crazy toons!Buster: [hands him a "tomato surprise"] Here, have some nice tomato surprise! ["tomato surprise" explodes in Max's face]Montana Max: [growls]

Allusions

This episode is a parody of the 1941 American drama film, Citizen Kane, with Montana Max in the role of Charles Foster Kane.

Among the things that are in Monty's Mansion are the Rosebud sled (also from Citizen Kane) and an issue of Action Comics #1, which marks the debut of the famous comic book superhero, Superman.

Montana Max's toy store chain, Toys R Mine is a parody of the popular children's toy store, Toys R Us. This toy store would later be seen in in a commercial in the second wraparound for the Season 2 episode, Playtime Toons, parodying the "I Don't Want to Grow Up, I'm a Toys R Us Kid" song.

Plucky's alter-ego, Deep Quack is a parody of the pseudonym, Deep Throat, the name given to William Mark Felt, Sr. when informing the press of illegal activities inside the Nixon administration.

Trivia

This episode is considered non-canon compared to the events of The Looney Beginning (which itself is a fictionalized origin story for the series), as in The Looney Beginning, Buster and Monty were originally made with no knowledge of each other's existence, and when they first met, they became enemies. Also Monty was originally a rich villain in The Looney Beginning before he and Buster first met.

In one of the newspapers revealing Monty's scandal, there is an article saying, "Vitello Still At Large." Art Vitello is one of the animators who worked on Tiny Toon Adventures.

During Buster's interview on what he would do if he were student body president, Shirley the Loon is seen bald.

In the newsreel of Buster being wrongfully expelled, there is a controversial sentence saying, "Fighting-Mad H***'s Angels Sue Studio."

Elmyra breaks character in this episode by hugging Hamton. Usually, Hamton is one of the few animals she dislikes, because she believes he's a dirty pig in need of a bath, which is ironic, because Hamton is obsessed with cleanliness.

A recurring joke is that no one understands why Monty said, "Acme" and yet they are oblivious to Acme being written everywhere.

When Buster was being interviewed by Hamton, Buster's ears didn't appeared during the beginning of the episode.